Framework of buildings



B. W. LEVITAN.l FRAMEWORK 0F su1LD|NGs.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25,1918.

'Patenteddunel3, 1922.

Y B. W. uvm/m.,-I FRAMEWORK 0F BUILDINGS.

AMSILICATION FILED JULY 25.1918.

Patented June 13, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

B. W. LEVYITAN.

FRAMEWORK 0F BUILDlNGs.

APPLICTION FILED JULY 25,1918.

Patented me 13, 1922.

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3 sHEETs'sHEET 3.

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c removal and i'eerection of, very large `one# naar s r sie.

BENJAMIN w. LEVITAN, or New Yoan, N. Y.

anais/mwen: or BUILDINGS.

Application mea July 25,

To' all who/m 'it may concern.'

Be it knownthat I, BENJAMIN W. LEvi- TAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, in the county, city, and State `of New York, have .invented a certain new and useful Improvement in the Framework of Buildings; and I hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being made to the .accompanying drawings, forming part of vthis specification.

This invention relates to improvements in the framework of buildings which have metal frames or-frames mainly formedv of metal, the chief object of the invention being to facilitate the preparation and transf' portation of materials for, and the-erection,

story buildings suitable for use, f or example, in housing aeroplaiies, balloons, hydroaeroplanes, war munitions, supplies, troops,

F ig.2, a view from one end of the iframe@ unit, of a 'fragment of a stay attached to an anchor;

Fig. 3,' a side and sectional view of frag ments of stays attached to an anchor;

Fi 4, a side view of a part of a hanger and fragments of rafters, stays and roofing; Fig. 5, a vertical section of this hanger; and other parts, on the plane m, Fig. 4; Fig. 6, anv underside view of the hanger and fragments of rafters shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 a side view of fragments of one of the uprights and some of the other'parts of the frame-unit;

Fig. 8,'a side elevation of another hanger and fragments of a stay, a 'rafter and roofing, the rafter being attachedl` to thel stay by the hanger.

Fig. .9, a vertical section of .this hanger Specificationof Letters Patent.

l Patented Jua@ ia, ieee. 191s. serial No. 246,659.

and of the stay and rafter, o n the plane y, g/,.

Fig. 8;

F ig. 10,'a diagrammatic side elevation of partof a framework comprising a s eries of frame-units; Fig. 11, an end elevation of a building embodying the invention;

Fig. 12, a diagrammatic side elevation of a duplex frame-unit; and

Fig. 13, a plan of walls shown in elevation in Fig. 12.

All of the frame-units of a series are alike, i

but the inventionmay be embodied in buildings of many different sizes and the frame# units of any building differ in size from those of a building of different width. Yet` I whatever. may be the size of the frame-units of any rseries the construction of each is the same as, or' similar to, that of one of the frame-units herein described and defined in the claims. 4 v

Each frame-unit resembles a truss in char acter, the frame-units of 'any building extending from side to side thereof and each being attached to' thenext unit or units of the series by beams which extend lengthwise of the building. Therefore, Figs. 1 and 12 represent notonly side elevations of two frame-units but also end elevations oftwo' series of frame-units. A building of which aseries of frame-units like that illustrated in Fig. l forms la part, may c over avery wide unobstructed area. The leiigthof the A area depends on the length of the series of frame-units which is includedA in the framework, and which may consist of a'large or vsmall number of frame-units, spaced at suitable distances,` for example twenty feet, apart. Fig. 11 shows an end of such a building. 'i

The pair of upright-s l and 2, which must u be rigid and very strong, are preferably steel beams such as are commonly called H-beams,

'for while uprights of other forms, such as tubes filled with concrete, or lattice-beams,

may be used, the l-l-beams are especially suitable and are to be obtained more readily and at less cost than are other suitable beams or columns. 'These uprights stand on solid foundations to which they should be firmly fastened and which may be rock or masses 3 and 4 of concrete embedded in the ground. The uprights shown are composed of bases 5 and@ and main portions pivotally connected tothe bases by pins 7 and 8. bases 5 and 6 may be attached by bolts 9 The dations. The uprights are stayed so as to 'prevent them from buckling or' bending inward (towards one another) under the` ac'- tion of the stresses which they are requlred to bear.

The stays, which-are tensiondevioes,`inay` be wlre ropes or chalns or rods o-r eye-bar s,

yet it is especially desirable to use wire rope A rather than stays of anyy other form, because it is less ltroublesome if not. also less expensive to procure and transport large quanti` ties of wirerope and to convert it into stays where theyare wanted, than it would be to make use vof stays of any other commonly.

known kind, Each or any stay may be asingle cable, chain or. rod, or may consist of a group ofV` tension-devices arrangedA in such relations as will enable them to act as a com posite stay. Some of the stays, called herein outer stays, extend from. t-he uprights outward andN downward to anchors, to which theyare secured at their lower ends.` The outer staysy 11 and 12 extendfrom the up-- right 1 to the anchor 13, and the outer 4stays 14 and 15 extend from the upright 2 to the anchor 16, each of Athese stays having eyes at its ends and including'means such as a turnbuckle or turnbuckles by which it may be made taut. The anchors 13 and 16 may be large roc-ks or' masses of concrete. Staples 17 and 18 fixed in the anchor 16 pass through the-eyes at the lower ends o-f the stays 14 and 15, and staples fixed in the anchor 13 pass through the eyes at the lower ends of the stays 11 and 12, but obviously other means might be used to fasten the stays to the anchors. The staples 19 and 20 which connect the stays 11 and 12 to the anchor 13 are like the staples 17 and 18, shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The brackets 21-anda22 riveted `to the upright. 1 and engaged by the eyes at the upper ends of the stays 11 and 12 respectively, and like brackets 23 and 24 riveted to the upright 2 and engaged by the eyes at the upper ends of the stays 14 and'15 respectively, connect the stays to the uprights.

The stays 25 and 26, called herein' crossstays, extend from the uprights inward and downward and from upright to upright. Each has eyes at its ends and .includes a.

turnbuckle or turnbuckles. Thelbracket 2,7

riveted toupright 1 engages-withgthe eye at the upper end of the cross-stay, 25, and

a like bracket 28 riveted to the upright 2 engages with the eye at the upper end of the cross-stay 26. 'The bracket 29riveted to up-..

right 1 engages with the eye at the lower end of stay 26, and a like bracket 30 riveted to upright 2 engages with the. eye `at the lower end of stay 25. The stays 25`and 26 cross one .another midway between the uprights'- and there passthrough the hanger v31 (Fig. 1.) This hanger, which is stiff and .in which thelcross-stays are clamped, is composed of the grooved plates 32 and 33 bolted'together bythe bolts 34, these plates'having the shapes represented in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Their lower portions form a shackle through which' the" upright 1i* inward'and downward to cross-stay 26 andy are attached to it by means of'the hangersl the bolt 35 passes. The stays 36 extend 'from 37 (Fig. 1) which form the'lower ends-of these short stays: The cross-stay passes-y .through and is 'clamped in these hangers,

each of which consists of separable sections. 38 and39 Vbolted together by bolts 40 (Figs.` 8 and 9.) The short stays 41extend from .the upright 2 to the cross-stay 25 vand are attached to it by means of the hangers 42 (Fig.

1) in which the cross-stay is clamped and which are like the hangers 37. jThese hangers 37 and 42 also are stiff. The short stays include turnbuckles/and are put under such .tension that the cross-stays are bent upward between theh'anger 31 and the uprights, as l appears by Fig. 1.

A pair of rafters is' attached to the cross stays by, means of the central hanger 31 and the hangers 37 and 42, each rafter being comi posed of beams arranged continuously; or in other words so that each forms a continuation of, another, and the beams being secured together by bolts or other connectingdevices. f

The beams .43 forni one of the rafters and the beams 44 form the other rafter. These beams may be either wood o-r metal.` One rafter is attached at its lower end to 'the -upright 1 close to the lowerend of the crossstay 26 and the other rafter is attached at its lower end to the upright 2 close to the lower end of cross-stay 25. This may be done by bolting the rafters tothe brackets 29 and .30 by means of bolts 45 passing through the rafters and brackets (Fig. 7 At theirV upper ends the rafters Ht in the central hanger 31 and are held therein and connected to;

from4 the adjoining beam, and the bolts which connect the beams together and to thehangers may pass through those plates (Fi s. 6-9.) The beams of each rafterform ang es in the hangers 37 or 42, each angle Aa pair of plates 48 .fast on and projecting 'l being only a little less than a hundred andv A'eighty degrees, and the vertices of these an* @les are downward so that each rafter bends downward and throughout almost its whole length is below a straight liife which cuts itat both ends.A The cross-stays, rafters, and hangers, which are also struts, form what are essentially two' inclined trusses secured 130.

together at their upper eds midway be tween the upglhts, and secured at their' lower ends to t e uprights, and the outer Stays 12 and 15 counteract the stresses imposed on .the uprights by the cross-stays at their lower ends, as well as some stresses imposed on the uprights by both the cross# on the pivotal pins of the uprights'until it lies on the .ground before its parts are disconnected from one another.

The frame-units' of aserles are fastened together by beams 49 which may be of wood vor metal, and the framework is stiffened'at places on both sides by stays 50 extending from one upright to an adjacent upright.

The joists 51 are laid on the rafters and braced as joists commonly are, and are covered withm corrugated sheet iron,4 or with boards and tarred paper, or some other roofin -material.v Y

lhe beams 52 form extensions of the rafters, and are Vattached to the uprights' or beams fastened thereto, and to posts 53.

rThe roof may be. extended to the outer ends of the beams 52 and the side ,walls ofthe building may consist of corrugated iron sheetingor other suitable material vfastened to the posts 53. Of course a building may be closed at either or .both of its ends by walls such as the wall 54 (Fig. 11) 'fastened to the roof and the uprights of the end units of the series and having in it doors and windows. j f` It will be understood that many of the details of the frame-unit and framework described may be changed or replaced by others differing from them in forni, and that modifications of the frame unit may be made, within the limits fixed by the claims, to adapt the invention to smallI as well as large buildings, and-to buildings comprising peculiar Afeatures ofl construction.

l/Vhen it is desirable to erect two larg buildings and place them side by sidev and close together, it is expedient, in order to save materials, labor and expense, to utilize a series of frame-units like the duplex frameunit represented in Fig. 12. .This is composed of the three uprights 55, 56 and 57', the outer stays 58, 59 and 60, 61, the crossstays 62 and 63 attached to uprights 55 and 56, the cross-.stays 64 and 65 attached to uprights 56 and 57, the short stays 66, 67, 68, and 69, and the two pairs and 71of rafters attached to the cross-stays. Each de- I :tail of its construction is like that of a similar feature ofthe frame unit above described and will readily be understood,.itvisr believed,

without the aid of vfurther explanation.

`When the framework of a-bujildin'g'o1/ l1 buildings includes a serieso-ffranieu'nits like. thisv duplex frame-unit, the unit-s o'fthe.series are united bybe'ams likeA tliebeainsf49lFig- 10) extending lengthwise of A-'tlrie series,and are braced by stayssughgasthe,stays 50 1 (F ig. 10.),A ,But Fig.. 12 'illustrates i the.' .foundations off foundations are here lio side' walls of the double building,l and the other, 73, forming a'central partition extending from end to end of'th'e building. The uprights may extend intofor through the walls or thickened portions thereof (Fig. 13) or may stand onthem.. 'Itwill be seen that uprights'55 a`nd`56 vform a` pair vand that stay 64 extends outward and downward from upright 56. Also it will be seen thatvuprights 56 and 57-,form a pair and that the stay 63 vextends outward and downward from upright 56. Therefore the stays 63 and 64 are essentially outer stays .as well as cross-stays, their action on upright 56 being substantially the same as that of the 'long outer stays on the uprights of the frame-unit particularly described above. l

It now will be evident, it is'believed, that this. duplex frame-unit may be extended `by adding to it other uprights, stays andY rafters, and that a series of such extended frameunits may form trusses of the framework of a large number of buildings placed side by side.

i, By practicing this invention it is feasible to construct a very large building, devoid of any interior obstruction, so that the roof shall not only be properly supported but also shall be reinforced in a way calculated to prevent it from being torn off by a violent wind or some force acting on it from within the building and tending to lift it. A force, such as wind-pressure, tending to lift the roof would be resisted by those parts of the cross-stays which extend from the' peak of the'roof to the uprights. They tend to prevent the central-hanger from moving upward and each cross-stay tends to prevent the other from moving upward, while Buildings in which this invention is-utilized may beerected and taken down by unskilled laborers. there being neither framing y .an-S 72, 7aand 74, two of them, 7 2 and'7 4, forming the' nor riveting to.be done or undone by them,

building and including a series' of frameunits each comprising a pair of rigid uprights to which 'are' attached stays that extend outward and downward therefrom, the

combination with the uprights-of crossstays by which the uprights lare tied together, and a pair of rafters, the cross-'stays extending froln the uprights inward and ,downward and lengthwise of thev rafters and being attached to the uprights close to the lower ends of the rafters, and the pair of rafters and'cross-.stays being fastened together at the upper ends of the rafters andwhere the stays cross and at other places betweenthe upper and lower ends of the rafters, and the cross-stays being connected to the uprightsby short stays extending inward and downward from the uprights 2. In framework which forms'part of a4 building and includes the elements of the combination defined in clainil and in which each of the rafters is composed of beams arL ranged continuously and fastened together, the combination with those elements o'f rigid hangers which are attached to and extend below *the cross-stays andf'to which the I rafters are attached at the' meeting ends of the beams. A

3. Framework which forms part of a building and includes the elements of the combination defined in cla-im2- and in which each beam forms an angle with the next and the cross-stays are bent upward between the ends of the rafters, the vertex. of the angle" of crossstays by which the u'prights are t'ied togetl'ler, and a'pair of rafters, the cross- 4 stays extending from. the "uprights inward and downward and lengthwise of the rafters and being attached tort'he .uprightsclose to .the lowerends of the rafters', and the pair of raftersv and cross-stays being fastenedtogether at the upper ends of the rafters and y rafters, andthe cross-stays being connected to the'upriglits by short stays extending inward and downward from the upriglrts.

BENJAMIN W. LEVITAN.

where the stays cross'v and at other places'be` tween the .upper and lower ends Vof thev 

